Ming Day
Ming Bridges
This is a calculated effort to break local singer-songwriter Ming Bridges into the Taiwan market.
Essentially, her bilingual debut record released here, Who Knows (2012), has been repackaged with more Mandarin numbers. The English tracks, with lyrics by Bridges, are collected on a second disc.
Chirpy, teeny-boppy numbers such as Under The Stars and Have To Love You commingle with radio-friendly ballads including Tears Fall Like Rain on the main disc. But they are all polished to a sheen that feels generic.
Instead, it is the bonus disc that gives one a better sense of Bridges as a person, whether she is bemoaning her bad luck in love on Sweet Misfortune or overanalysing things on Miss Thinkalot.
It is a pity this does not come through more on the Mandarin material. Balancing her unique personality with a commercial sound is something she will have to grapple with in the days ahead.
(ST)